Boyfriend bids to clear name over isle murder

A boyfriend on bail accused of the murder of a Castleford woman on a Greek island has vowed to clear his name.

Luke Walker, 24, has been allowed to return home to England while he awaits trial for the murder of his 21-year-old girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman in Crete.

Mr Walker, from Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, was arrested in May 2010 and has always maintained his innocence. Miss Hyndman had been working in the popular resort of Malia when she died of severe abdominal injuries.

Greek prosecutors say she was beaten by Mr Walker but he has said she fell during a night out in the resort.

Speaking this week he said: “She was the love of my life. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I wake up and I think about her - and I go to bed and think about her.”

Earlier this month, a court in Heraklion sat for less than an hour before Mr Walker’s trial was adjourned because key prosecution witnesses had not been called.

A date for the trial to continue has not yet been set but officials have said it may not resume until September next year.

Mr Walker spent five months in jail in the run-up to the trail, staying in a cell with 17 to 20 people.

He said he was now focused on clearing his name and “holding my head high”, and expressed his gratitude to family and friends for their support so far. He said: “That’s what got me through prison, knowing all these people believed in me and supported me.”

Miss Hyndman’s mother Heather said she was “angry and upset” at first when she was told Mr Walker had been bailed to the UK.

She said: “But then, talking to my lawyer, he explained that it was a good thing that it had been adjourned because there was lots of information that he didn’t have. Given more time we can get that vital information and it will be better for Chelsea in the long run to have all the documents.

“When he was allowed home I was upset because he’s allowed home to be with his family and my family can never be together again.”

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